The Internet and First Amendment rights: Is freedom of speech really free?

According to CNN this morning, model Liskula Cohen sued Google for the identity of a commenter who defamed her on a Blogger site. Here is a quote from the CNN’s Newsroom blog:

Cohen went to court after a user of Google’s blogging service, Blogger.com, created a site called “Skanks in NYC.” The blog featured photos of Cohen with insulting captions. The judge ruled that Google had to turn over any identifying information it had (in this case an IP address and an e-mail address) on this blogger, and Google has complied.

After Don Lemon read a few comments on the air (one of those comments being mine, many thanks to Don) he asked a question that I think sums up this entire situation. Does “hatespeak” count as freedom of speech?

The argument in this case is that the blogger’s comments about Cohen are defamatory, and they are. According to Gawker, the blog “Skanks of NYC” labeled Cohen as well, a New York City skank. I would quote the blog, but I don’t quote gossip and smut.

Americans today throw freedom of speech around heavily. However, we can’t pick and choose what we are free or not free to say. When white supremacists spew ignorance and hatred, they have a right to do it. In the end I disagree with it, I criticize it, but I will not challenge their right to be stupid.

I once had a high school teacher who would pretentiously quote Voltaire every time students disagreed with each other, and it rings true now:

“I may not approve of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

In actuality, that was said by Evelyn Beatrice Hall in “The Friends of Voltaire”, but that’s neither here nor there.

In the end, freedom of speech is a take it, or leave it issue. People will hate and defame, but in the end unless they have definitive proof, most people are smart enough to dismiss it. If you want to live in a country where you are free to say whatever you want, you need to be able to take the good with the bad.

This ruling is going to set an ugly precedent for the Internet. This is a huge set back for the blogging community, who is heavily based on opinions and Op-Ed commentary. I have a feeling this is going to be the first of many.

I Am Taking Twitter Very Seriously Now…

I’ve had a Twitter for the longest time, but I’ve never really knew what it did. But alas, meeting other people who have Twitter has made me realize why Twitter rocks. So I reactivated and am now posting on Twitter quite often. Look me up here. Or search for my Twitter name…JLV0628. My Blog is also fed to that site using the awesome Twitterfeed service. So you’ll be up-to-date on all things TJZ…and hear my inner thoughts and random phrases throughout the day. Peace Out!

A Call For Streaming Video Uniformity!

Being a blogger, I love to take advanatage of the abilities the web has to offer for streaming content. I think adding a video, or a picture to my words adds a lot of color and substance to my posts. 

Yesterday I wanted to post a video a few from The Daily Show’s website. One was Jon Stewart describing Barack Obama’s withdraw from bipartisanship in regards to the stimulus bill. And the other was him talking about how Bill O’Reilly talks about privacy for celebrities but doesn’t practice it himself.

They were really funny, but I couldn’t post them on my blog because they have their own streaming video stuff. And so does CNN, and every other major site. 

All these major websites lack uniformity in this respect. Having one or two standardized streaming video systems would be great for websites and bloggers to take advantage and spread that media on a wider scale. 

I don’t know, I guess I am complaining because I can’t embed Daily Show videos on my site without a huge hassle. But am I being unreasonable?

Top RIAA Lawyers Join Obama Administration. The Internet Will Now Suck.

You know, I think Joe Biden is a cool dude. And if you don’t like Joe Biden well you can go sit on a tack. But like most people, Joe Biden has his faults. One of Joe Biden’s major fault is the fact that he has more friends in the RIAA and the BSA than a pro net neutrality guy like myself would want. Sadly, his scumbag friends are now full fledged scumbag government employees.

According to CNET, President Obama, Mr. Net Neutrality himself, is filling the Department of Justice with the RIAA’s best and brightest. The DOJ’s latest acquisition is Associate Deputy Attorney General Donald Verilli. His list of legal douchebagery includes shutting down Grokster, filing a lawsuit against Google and YouTube on behalf of Viacom, and suing a woman by the name of Jammie Thomas, who was accused of sharing 24 songs on KaZaA to the tune of $220,000. Yep that’s right, for 24 songs. Fortunately the judge threw out the verdict based on misleading jury instructions given by the RIAA. The RIAA I believe is still in the process of appealing the decision.

Gizmodo(one of my favorite tech blogs, props to you guys) sums up the rest of the new appointments quite nicely:

This follows up the naming of Tom Perrelli, from the Perrelli Family, as associate attorney general, the third-in-command post at the DoJ. Perrelli was and probably still is the favorite lawyer of the RIAA, suing people and companies left, right, and center in the name of the recording gang. He will be in charge of the DoJ’s civil, antitrust, and civil rights division.

But don’t go away, because there’s more. Who is the deputy attorney general, the second in command at the DoJ, do you ask? Mr. David Ogden, who-according to his previous job’s biography-represents “media and Internet industries, as well as major trade and professional associations.” He also as “part of the department who successfully defended the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act before the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Not enough? Don’t worry, because the VP has otherfriends in other places. Take Neil MacBride, another associate deputy attorney general, who previously was an aide to Biden himself. MacBride was the king of the legal hill at the Business Software Association. As the BSA’s antipiracy enforcer and general counsel, MacBride oversaw the creation of the program that rewarded people for phoning tips about suspected software piracy.

Honestly, all that net neutrality, “I love the Internet”, “come check out my Facebook” bullshit Barack Obama fed us during the election is very much going out the window with these sharks on the government payroll. Obama was notorious for proposing less restrictions for Internet and less power for the RIAA during the election. As soon as he mentioned that the joyfest in the tech community was heard far and wide. But with Joe Biden came a strong foothold for the likes of the RIAA to use to propagate their bogus agenda.

Take the RIAA’s case against Jaimme Thomas. Is $220,000 fair for sharing 24 songs on a P2P network? Do you think in times of economic strife it’s important for an organization such as the RIAA to start coming after individual citizens for large sums of money on the basis that quite possibly, MAYBE, someone could have downloaded one of those 24 songs? Her case for appeal was central on jury instruction No. 15, “which told jurors that she could be found guilty even if it couldn’t be proven that anyone actually downloaded the tracks she was sharing.”

Am I surprised? Hardly. I know how politics works, and regardless of the administration, the political party, or the person in charge, the RIAA will lobby, and make campaign contributions and buy politicians left and right. Barack Obama, sadly, is no different. 

GOP Updates Website to Change 2.0

Photo Source: Ars Technica

So after doing some soul searching, the GOP decided to revamp it’s website. Look familiar? Yeah…this is the new changified GOP website, GOP.gov. We got a couple of RSS feeds, some lame YouTube videos, and a bunch of other crap in what I like to call ‘”Barack New Roman”. New look, same crappy taste? Is this a move in the right direction for the GOP in terms of reaching out? Or is this just a shiny new wrapper on the same crap. What do you guys think? Drop me a comment. Also check out the original story over at Ars Technica for details and specifics on how they designed it.

A Blog About What Blogging Should Be…

The other day I found myself in a heated discussion with one of my friends about bloggers and the media, spawning from this post I wrote here. He argued that most bloggers are idiots and write whatever the hell they want and make broad accusations on baseless arguments, citing the example of how the blogosphere went nuts after someone thought that Sarah Palin’s baby wasn’t her baby. Being a blogger myself I quickly came to the defense of blogging community. Soon after that, he basically dismissed everything I had accomplished in the past 10 months by saying that I wasn’t a blogger I was just “some dude who writes stuff on the internet and doesn’t even get paid”. Knowing full well what this website has done for me, and the things I have accomplished because of it, it’s quite an offensive thing to say. Especially coming from a friend. But as soon as it all wore off, it got me thinking…

In the past two years, bloggers have been getting major amounts of respect from the media. And while yes, anyone can be a blogger and write whatever it is they want, it is still a respectable format for those who normally wouldn’t be heard to voice their opinions. Sure, we have a few people who do write off the wall, crazy stuff, like Sarah Palin’s baby conspiracy. I chose not to but hey, if someone thinks it’s a valid concern, who am I to say no? Now, if you want to write that stuff on your blog, knowing full well it’s highly speculative and debatable then that is up to you. It’s your right, you can say whatever you want..The media knows this. They do filter what they collect from the blogosphere to an extent. I don’t remember a single mainstream media outlet reporting the allegations that Sarah Palin’s kid wasn’t hers. 

However, seeing as bloggers are rapidly becoming fixtures of the media, I think we owe it to our readers to be some what objective. We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard because we are now at the forefront of this sort of Media 2.0 revolution. We must remember that in this environment we can, and in fact should be held accountable for our words, even if the only one holding us accountable is ourselves. I put that in bold face because I think it’s important. If nothing else I want you to take that with you. The media is held accountable every day for things they say, and even though the blogging community tends to be out on its own (for now), my question is, given the current state of affairs should we be any different?

We are witnessing the media and the Internet slowly become one. I mean turn on CNN and you’ll see it. Rick Sanchez looks to Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs for live, on-air feedback. CNN as a whole looks to it’s iReports for on the spot reporting as soon as news breaks. Print publications look to blogs for great writers who can contribute and keep their print publications competitive in a world where print media is fading.

Another thing that hit me hard is the “…and doesn’t even get paid” part. I promise you, the day The Jorge Zone starts making money, is the day I stop writing for it. This definitely isn’t what I intended it for. This is a launching point, something that will lead me to something else, something to get my name out there and make my mark. If you are a blogger who wants his blog to make money, then might not happen. I don’t do this for the money, and that is the reason why 99% of the stuff I write here is QUALITY. I do it because I LOVE to do it, and if you blog because you love to write and you want readers then your blog will be successful. Just because we may not get paid, doesn’t make this any less of a profession. 

I have noticed in the short time that I have been doing this is that you can either be a blogger, or “some dude who writes stuff on the internet and doesn’t even get paid”. I am a blogger, and The Jorge Zone is A BLOG. My track record on this site speaks for itself. Do I expect someone who doesn’t do this to understand the difference? No. But at the same time I think the burden is on ourselves to establish that credibility. We need to form our reputation not as individuals on the Internet, but as a community. Wea are voices once lost in a crowd but now given a stage to speak, and an audience who listens. We are tomorrows journalists, writers, poets, and authors. The blogging community, whether you respect it or not, whether you like it or not is definitely here to stay. But the least we can do for you, the reader, is to class it up a bit.

Jerry Yang Steps Down As Yahoo CEO.

Wow, he finally did it. Jerry Yang has finally decided to step down as CEO of Yahoo. Maybe it’s because he couldn’t take the stress anymore. I am sure his working environment wasn’t very plesant anymore. His employees who probably had a nice chunk of Yahoo in their 401Ks certainly can’t be pleased.

They probably don’t talk to him. They probably laugh at him when he is not looking, and when he asks “What are you laughing at?” they reply with more laughter. He sits in his office to find his stapler in Jell-O, then turns on the TV to find that he is the highest ranking member of the Mad Money Wall of Shame. Here is his official statement, courtesy of Kara Swisher over at All Things Digital (one of my favorite sites):

 

To: all yahoos
Fr: Jerry
Subject: update

yahoos -

i wanted to address all of you on the news we’ve just announced. the board of directors and I have agreed to initiate a succession process for the ceo role of yahoo!. roy bostock, our chairman of the board, is leading the effort to identify and assess potential candidates for consideration by the full board. the board will be evaluating and considering both internal and external candidates and has retained heidrick and struggles to help in this effort.

i will be participating in the search for my successor, and i will continue as ceo until the board selects a new ceo. once a successor is named, i will return to my previous role as chief yahoo and continue to serve as a director on the board.

last june, i accepted the board’s request that i assume the ceo role to restructure and reposition the company as a whole in order to more effectively meet the fast-changing needs of both users and partners. since taking on the ceo role, i have had an ongoing dialogue with the board about succession timing. thanks in large measure to your tireless efforts, we have created a more open, competitive yahoo! and we believe the time is now right to transition to a new ceo who can take the company to the next level.

despite the external environment we face, the fact remains that yahoo! is now a significantly different company that is stronger in many ways than it was just 18 months ago. this only makes it all the more essential that we manage this opportunity to leverage the progress up to this point as effectively as possible. i strongly believe that having transformed our platform and better aligned costs and revenues, we have a unique window for the right ceo to take ownership over the next wave of mission-critical decisions facing the company.

all of you know that I have always, and will always bleed purple. i will always do what I think is right for this great company. while this step will be an adjustment for all of us, i know it’s the right one. i look forward to updating you on this process as soon as the board has developments to share, and will continue to do everything i can to make yahoo! fulfill its full potential.

thank you,
jerry

Jerry, I know you are a nice guy and all, and believe me it’s nothing personal. I hope you take your awesome severance package and find something you enjoy to do. Peace Out Jerry.

 

 

CHANGE We Can Log On To: Obama’s Internet Driven Government

 

At first I thought a president that would constantly update his Twitter was a bit ridiculous. I’d be a bit perturbed if every time I checked my Twitter it would say something like “barackobama is having a sandwich and reading his autobiography” or “barackobama is in a cabinet meeting”. But it seems that Barack Obama is planning to do so much more than that.

Obama’s campaign has redefined the election process. Using the internet, he has raised more money than any presidential campaign in U.S. History, and single-handedly redefined the way presidential candidates will campaign for years to come. Amassing huge followings on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, Barack Obama has united a nation and secured an overwhelming vote. Using YouTube to publish speeches and rally footage, Barack Obama broadened the scope of his message from a few thousand rally goers to an entire nation.

President-Elect Obama is now preparing to integrate the Internet in to his administration, and in to the government as a whole. Following the Web 2.0 revolution, the Internet has become something much more profound. This is the Internet where someone like me can post something that can be seen by thousands of people. The power of the Internet is apparent in the recent social networking movement. News organizations are slowly moving away from print, making themselves 100% accessible on the Internet. Now imagine how the Internet has changed our lives, and now imagine how it would change our government as well.

Barack Obama’s Internet centered government stands on one basic principle. Internet for all. One cannot benefit from this “Government 2.0″ if they don’t have Internet. Barack Obama plans to use some of the money collected by the Universal Service Fund, a $7 Billion fund that is collected by the government to subsidize phone service in rural areas, to instead build high speed Internet lines that carry phone capabilities as well. This is a great idea, because not only is the money already there, but the technology is basic and not a dramatic change or step up from anything pre-existing.

Another thing I definitely like about this is that the Obama Administration (with the exception of Joe Biden) stands firmly on the idea of net neutrality. The Internet can’t grow if Internet providers pick and choose which types of data to accept, and which types of data to reject. Things like that, and like DRM would hinder the growth of this powerful tool, and hinder the goal Barack Obama wants to achieve. Passing a net neutrality act would go a long way in ending the the debate between supporters of net neutrality and companies like Comcast who want to regulate their bandwidth. 

The Obama Administration has set some major goals in terms of technology. I was reading a great article in the Boston Globe that details them. 

Obama wants to put YouTube-like videos of government meetings online, so citizens can see their federal agencies at work, and has proposed a Google-like database of federal grants and contracts, so people can see where their money is going. And he’ll require his Cabinet members to hold regular online town hall meetings, where they’ll field questions from the Internet audience.

I think this has a potential of being a revolutionary tool for the American people, in terms of government accountability. Some political scientists even go a step further, citing that this may be something much more, a whole new branch of the government. Technology and innovation is the next frontier for us. It’s something that will unite us, and impact out lives in many ways. Whether you agree with Barack Obama or not, it’s nice to see a President who feels the same way. 

Jerry Yang Is A Moron.

"I'm THIS much of a moron."

Normally I would say something like “my dog Ben could run Yahoo better than Jerry Yang”. That would be a facetious comment with no real merit. Folks, not this time. My dog could LITERALLY run Yahoo better than Jerry Yang. Check out what he said today…

“To this day, I have to say that the best thing for Microsoft to do is to buy Yahoo. I don’t think that is a bad idea at all – at the right price, whatever the price is, we are willing to sell the company. We were ready to negotiate, we wanted to negotiate a deal, and we felt that we weren’t that far apart. But at the end of the day, they withdrew and they since have been very clear about not wanting to buy the company.”

What?! So you turn down a fantastic offer from Microsoft, an offer you you thought to be lacking, and now you want it? Hindsight is indeed 20/20. Jerry Yang has a duty to his stockholders, and turning down this deal betrayed their trust. Now your stock is tanking, your stockholders are in a vituperative rage, and your company is slowly sinking in the wake of the Google mothership. Carl Ichan must be stress eating a half pint of B&J’s Cherry Garcia right now. Jerry Yang shouldn’t just be fired. He should be run out of town, with a mob of towns folk chasing him with pitchforks and torches.

Barack Obama on Technology & America

Being a technologically adept person, I believe that technology, no matter the field, is what drives us. It constantly pushes the envelope, and it allows us to evolve. Nothing makes me happier than to see a President who feels the same way. Junauzu.com gathered a bunch of Obama quotes on technology and how he will use it to drive this nation forward. 

The historic U.S. Presidential election has come to an end with Barack Obama emerging victorious against John McCain. Obama will become the forty-fourth President of the United States and the first African-American to be elected for the highest office.

Some of my tech savvy readers are probably wondering how will Obama utilize technology to help improve the U.S. and world economy. That is why I’m going to share to you some of Barack Obama’s tech related quotes to learn more about his plans. I also included links to the quotes’ sources. Enjoy!

• “To restore America’s competitiveness, we must recruit a new generation of science and technology leaders by investing in diversity.” SOURCE
• “Together, we could open up government and invite citizens in, while connecting all of America to 21st century broadband. We could use technology to help achieve universal health care, to reach for a clean energy future, and to ensure that young Americans can compete — and win — in the global economy…” SOURCE
• “I will recruit new teachers and make new investments in rural schools, we’ll connect all of America to 21st century technology and telecommunications.” SOURCE
• “We are a land of moon shots and miracles of science and technology that have touched the lives of millions across the planet.” SOURCE
• “As president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.” SOURCE
• “Ensuring that the US continues to lead the world in science and technology will be a central priority for my administration.” SOURCE
• “I’ll change the posture of our federal government from being one of the most anti-science administrations in American history to one that embraces science and technology.” SOURCE
• “We will fire government managers who aren’t getting results, we will cut funding for programs that are wasting your money, we will use technology and lessons from the private sector to improve efficiency across every level of government.” SOURCE
• Obama said the nation needs to invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and clean coal technology “so the use of coal does not degrade our environment. We can do that if we are investing in the technology, the research and the development.” SOURCE
• “We must adapt and make tradeoffs among systems originally designed for the Cold War and those required for current and future challenges. We need greater investment in advanced technology ranging from the revolutionary, like unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare capabilities, to systems like the C-17 cargo and KC-X air refueling aircraft–which may not be glamorous to politicians, but are the backbone of our future ability to extend global power.” SOURCE
• Obama said if elected his government would “harness technology to confront the biggest challenges that America faces”. SOURCE
• Pointing to President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon, Mr. Obama said: “I will set big goals for this country as president – some so large that the technology to reach them does not yet exist.” SOURCE

Kick ass. He is doing what I did with my mom when I bought her a Mac, dragging this nation kicking and screaming in to the 21st century. 

Cool Website: thingsarefine.org

Hey guys, just a quick post. I stumbled upon this site on Kanye West’s blog, thingsarefine.org.These are the guys who are pioneering that “Don’t Vote” campaign which I think is great. Their site is Pro-Obama, but even if you are not it’s definitely worth a click. It’s really creative and their posters are really cool. I have inserted one above to give you an idea. Anyway, check it out!

Facebook Status Updates Are Not Outlets For Your Emotion.

You know what is really annoying? When people use their facebook status updates to make statments about someone else, or about something profound in their life that only they and like, three other people would understand. I can’t stand that nonsense. Every time I log in to Facebook now, it’s always some chick, who either broke up with her a-hole boyfriend, or heard that so and so called them a skank and I see something like “So and So is an independent woman, who is so worth it you have no idea!” or something stupid like that. Nobody cares sweetheart, your Facebook is not an outlet for your emotions or moments of triumph over drama. You’re life isn’t that important for me to relate to you and shoot you a “you go girl!” or some other cliche your one, equally as moronic friend, sends you in solidarity. Seriously, cut it out.

Google Chrome: More Evidence Google Wants To Rule The World.

So, you like Google Chrome huh? You think it’s the kitten’s mittens, don’t you? It’s so fast, so sleek, and the logo looks like a Super PoKe Ball. But by downloading Google Chrome, or any Google spawn, you are slowly surrendering your GSoul. Lets first walk through the Google Chrome installation process. So you download it, and launch the .exe (wow haven’t typed .exe in a while). And then it makes you read and agree to the user agreement. But here in lies the first attempt for Google to own you. If you notice in the user agreement, it states 

11. Content license from you

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.

11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above license.

I’ve emboldened the juicy parts. So in essence, you have Google Chrome, you write a blog, or type out your “About Me” section on MySpace for the 30th time and Google will own it. So keep that in mind while you are enjoying Google Chrome. 

Another branch of the Google reach is the new Android OS. This is Google’s new attempt at world domination, it wants to own your phone. See, I think Google’s biggest problem, as Dan Lyons puts it, is that it doesn’t own everything.

Google is all about solving the world’s most difficult problems — specifically, those problems that prevent Google from owning every last piece of the world.

Google wants your phone. Google wants your computer. Google wants you. I mean come on man look, do you think StreetView is actually is actually useful? Thats just Google looking inside your house.

You Want CHANGE? I Got Your CHANGE Right Here…

So, in case you have been living under a rock for the past 3 days, Obama chose Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. Well as I was still indecisive in making a choice, so I was looking in to Senator Biden and I found this article. The articles shows Biden’s voting record on issues such as peer-to-peer networks and is very anti-encryption. Gizmodo sums his record up nicely… 

 

“He asked Congress to spend $1 billion to monitor peer-to-peer activity. (In fairness, much of this is to prevent child pornography, but the tactic is apparently a little blunt.) 

Two Biden bills have been explicitly anti-encryption, because you know, encryption makes it hard for the FBI to read people’s e-mails.

He has expressed support for internet taxes and internet filtering in schools and libraries.

The RIAA seems to be one of his best buddies: Biden sponsored a bill that would restrict recording of songs from satellite and net radio, and another one that would make it a felony to “trick” a computer into playing back unauthorized songs or running bootlegged videogames. That latter one died when Verizon, Microsoft, Apple, eBay and Yahoo all argued against it.

Biden was one of just four senators invited to attend a celebration of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act hosted by the MPAA’s Jack Valenti and the RIAA’s Hillary Rosen, two of American file-sharer’s most wanted.

When he was asked in 2006 about proposing net-neutrality laws, he said there was no need, since any bit-filtering violations would provoke such a huge public ruckus they’d have to hold congressional hearings anyway–and they’d be standing-room only. (Wonder if Biden reads Gizmodo.) [CNet]“

So as of right now, as a staunch supporter of net neutrality and the such, I don’t think I can give Barack Obama my full support. Though I believe the man wants to change things, and though he is a supporter of net neutrality, I think his choice of Joe Biden as Vice-President is not a sound one. I think in an age where the internet plays such a big part in our lives, Senator Biden would do nothing but hinder it. 

The Art of Instant Messaging Part 1: Don’t IM Me So Much.

I love instant messaging. It’s on my PC and my phone, and it sure beats SMS and MMS by a long shot. But seeing as though instant messaging has evolved from something imbedded in to AOL  to something that has become a primary way we communicate with each other, we need to realize how sometimes it could be a bit ‘overused’. Seriously, I think IM was sort of invented for the sake of small talk. If I need to reach my friends with any sort of urgency, well, I will call or text them. But lately, I have been victim to what I had dubbed “Boredom Chat”. Boredom Chat is when a person, out of boredom, frequently contacts another person who they normally don’t talk to and sort of share with them, mundane and uninteresting thoughts and plans they have for the very near future. It usually starts off with “What’s up?” or something along those lines. Now this question will probably be repeated several times throughout a 2 to 3 hour span. As if anything significant can happen within those few hours. Replying with “not much” or “nm” will do nothing for you. This will in no way throw a wrench in to this machine. Soon after that, the person will sort of speak to you like if you know more or less everything they are talking about. This comes to fruition as maybe a reference to an event in their lives. An example of that would be “Man that project was real hard.” See, at this point is when our curious nature tends to betray us. This usually leads to something along the lines of “What project is that?” After this you enter the point of no return. It is this very point one must fight to stay away from. Because once you hit it, the flood of completely pointless information will drown you. From here you will not only find out what the project is about, but this will spring in to various paths of conversation that will eventually lead you to either make up an excuse and sign off, or, go completely insane. How can this be avoided you ask? At this point it’s up to you to be resourceful. Just as a couple of people had to get shot before they perfected kevlar vests, a few people must go insane before we can escape something like this. Anyway, stay tuned for part two of “The Art of Instant Messaging” where I am going to delve in to how emotion doesn’t exist in the world of text communication. 

No, I don’t want a piece of flair…

OK, when Facebook released the code to make applications I thought that was pretty cool. But as so frequently happens when you give the masses even the slightest bit of power, this get grossly out of hand. Instead of genuinely constructive applications (like your iLike and Flickr) we have become subjects to these insanely annoying applications that involve you inviting more people and sending them drinks and pieces of flair. Look, I am all for the occasional fun app that does nothing but entertain you (that’s why I paid $9.99 to put bejeweled on my iPhone) Facebook these apps are nothing but annoying. Look I am not being a jerk here. This is not in a jerk tone. This is in a “I’m sick of denying 18 application requests every night” tone. So in closing, I don’t want a piece of flair, a drink, or a “Human Pet”. I don’t want to be a pirate or a ninja (though if I had to choose, I’d choose pirate…they are cooler). I don’t want to be a Vampire or a Werewolf (though again, I’d choose Werewolf). Peace Out. 

Textversations: Why Serious Conversations Should Not Be Had Over Text

I have always been an avid texter. In fact, I can safely say I used my phone more for texting and email rather than actual phone calls. It’s quick, convenient, and also cool. It’s quiet so you can do it in a meeting, or in class. And the other person can read it when they want to. But lately, after various events in my life, I have changed my position slightly on texting. Before I keep going is it “I texted her” or “I text her”? My friend says that text in the past sense is still text. If anyone can get back to me on that I would appreciate it. So back to the subject at hand. I think we, as a tech savvy society that we no doubt are, are letting SMS become a very prevalent mode of communication. We text each other for everything, which looking at it for what it’s worth isn’t a bad thing. I mean living in an age where information and communication happens instantly is a marvel of our times and a major step forward in out evolution as a society. But we abuse that ability constantly. Being able to send short, quick bursts text messages has sort of gone in it’s own direction. We have developed a set language for it based on abbreviations which, convenient as it is, is sort of hindering our vocabulary. Sociologists think that in 50 years well will be saying “BTW” instead of by the way. LOL is the one that scares me the most. We have taken an emotion and translated that down to three letters. You know when you say LOL, 90% of the time you aren’t laughing out loud and you know it. The other day I was talking to my friends, and one of them said LOL while laughing. I think everyone got the point of what I am saying now then after that. Turn off your computer for a while and just, read a book or something. I mean every now and then I will say “WTF” when I am doing my Dane Cook impression (if you ever see me, ask me to do it. I don’t like to toot my own horn, but it’s awesome) but I am not that bad. 

You can see it sort of worsening through the younger age groups. At the time I was 21, I went out with a girl who was 19. She had this horrible habit of literally conducting every conversation we have over text message. The bad thing about text message is that it’s emotionless. For the record, , , :-/, and :-$ (whatever that one is) are NOT emotions. I will not let a colon and parenthesis simulate the look on my face. Conversations over text lead to confusion. Can you tell if I am happy or sad? Of course not. So what do you think happened? After the second 3 page text I got out of there faster than if a grenade landed in my fox hole. Moral of the story, never date a girl who prefers texting over actually, you know, conversation. Your bill will go up, and your thumbs will hurt.

Texting rocks. It’s one of the best way to communicate with anyone you know. But honestly, lets every now and then put our phones down and remember that we all live relatively close to each other on this little blueberry called Earth. Give someone a call, use video chat even, something that you don’t have to type on. C U L8tr.

Twitter Frustrates Me…

I have a buddy of mine who keeps telling me to get Twitter. I don’t know what Twitter is, so I secretly Google it so as to avoid the embarrassment of not knowing something. After 10 minutes of reading and a video presentation, I found out Twitter is actually pretty dumb. Now I don’t want to offend the Twitter users of the world, but come on. For those of you who don’t know what Twitter is, and want to avoid the video lecture, Twitter is basically a micro blog that automatically updates with short messages that you type in regarding what you are currently doing. This is then pushed up to your micro blog and then updates anyone who is following you. So basically it updates people who care enough on your day to day operations. But I’ll come back to that in a second. First of all, I would be seriously worried about anyone who cared about what I do throughout the day. Let’s take last Tuesday, my day off from work, as an example. I woke up, had breakfast, went to Best Buy and bought Office 2008 Student/Teacher for Mac, and then came home, played Grand Theft Auto IV and just chilled out for the rest of the day. Wow…I am sure you are fighting the intrigue. But this is it…this is Twitter. Twitter basically is just you, telling people, what you are doing at that very moment. And what is said about those who follow your Twitter? Why would you follow me? You be sitting around and all of a sudden your phone chirps and it’s a text saying “Jorge Valens is now walking is dog.” Wow…awesome. I do kind of like the fact that major blogs have Twitter pages for you to get information as it comes, but seriously, that’s what they make RSS for. Web 2.0, in all it’s marvelous connectivity and limitless information scares me sometimes. 

The Most Powerful Button On Facebook

I was just sitting here playing with my Facebook and I was wondering how horrible it would be if everyone broke up using the cancel relationship button. Couldn’t they have named that better? Think about it, you are checking your Facebook and notice you boyfriend/girlfriend had just suddenly ended your relationship and moved on. I mean come on…that has got to be a lousy situation that I AM SURE has happened before. By far it has to be one of the most powerful internet links.

Sent from Jorge’s iPhone.

Mind Venting…

So here are the random thoughts, ideas, and emotions running through my head. 

I think Hillary needs to come to the fact that she lost. Right now she is just making herself look bad by not conceding defeat. I think it’s great that Barack Obama got the nomination. I think it’s a HUGE step in the right direction for this country and for the way we are perceived around the world. Hillary needs to realize what’s best for the country and not draw this out any further and maybe he’ll be less annoyed and consider her for VP.

In a couple of hours it’s going to be 5 days till the 3G iPhone comes out. On the outside, I am calm and collected. On the inside, I can barely contain myself. This is going to be a great product. I admire Steve Jobs. The guy is a business and marketing genius. Apple loves to ride the wave of massive hype all the way to a single moment. And what sets Apple apart from Microsoft, from Dell, from HP, is at the end of it all, whatever they release surpasses the hype that they create. It becomes such a revolutionary product, that it forces the industry to evolve.

My biggest fear in life is not being able to hear God. But I think sometimes, it’s not that God has stopped talking, it’s that I have stopped listening. I have tackled this issue here before, but I think it’s definitely more about being silent. Sometimes, we fill our lives with some many things, we take on so many decisions on our own, thinking we’ll be ok, then one day, when we do need God, we can’t hear Him over all the noise. Trusting God with every facet of your life is SO important. Making a little time to be silent today, will make things clearer for you tomorrow. That being said, trusting God with everything also includes your finances. Since I started working again, I have decided that it’s time my tithe reflected it. So come payday, I will be getting my tithe on.

I think I am over MySpace. I keep it, just basically to say I have it. I don’t get comments on it, I don’t feel like changing the way it looks, and I like to swap the song out once a month. Everyone I know is on Facebook. I like it better actually, it’s more mature. I can see myself being on Facebook forever, I might delete my MySpace after I am 35 or something.

Thats about it…PO!